This short true story was given to me as I left Australia last year, it is the story of Doris Pilkington’s mother , Molly , who led her sisters on the escape route from the Moore river Native settlement in Perth. A settlement for Aboriginal children with white fathers!
These three girls had made a long and chaperoned journey from their home in Jigalong to this native settlement with many promises. Alas, they found this place cold, with bars at the windows and Molly believed they were in Marbu country which implies the presence of flesh eating spirits. Anyone trying to escape would be dealt with severely.
The girls decide to escape, Molly being the leader ,on their way to find the rabbit proof fence. They have rabbits to eat, many fears along the way. They hide from a search plane that is looking for them!. They eventually find the rabbit proof fence, their hope is renewed and after a total of 9 weeks they arrive at Jigalong and find their family.
To the modern reader, the fence is a symbol of humanity, misplaced trust in its ability to control nature. The fence is also a symbol of the racism that British colonial control uses to divide the country into whites and natives.